A Humphrey Scholar at UC Davis is scheduled to deliver a lecture next week on the "handsome and powerful" komo masks of the Bambara people in his native country of Mali, located in western Africa.

The visiting scholar is Karim Sissoko. His talk on the "Bambara Masks of Mali" is set for noon Nov. 6 at the International House, 10 College Park, as part of the I House's Docents Present series. The public is invited free of charge and those attending are welcome to bring brown bag lunches.

A news release states that komo masks "are exotic images of carved and often adorned wood," and are used in many rituals of initiation as well as weddings, births, funerals and purifications.

Kathryn Tyson, co-director of the I House, said Davis resident Miep Palmer has a collection of Bambera masks, and she plans to show bring some of those to I House for next week's program.